THE PURPOSE: I don't think any one fight can be made in boxing today, that alone, is worth the price of a PPV. Unless of course, they can conjure up Dempsey vs Marciano or Joe Louis, but until that day comes, I want some quantity to go along with quality!

I say, if they want us to shell out 30, 40 sometimes 50 bucks per PPV, they should give us some bang for our buck! The card should be solid from top to bottom! Or at least it should be so top heavy with excellent fights that they can get away with a showcase fight to kick off the festivities, but these 2 or 3 showcase fights and 1 decent to mega main event PPV's are for the birds! (My apologies to any of the birds I may have offended with that statement.)

SO HERE'S MY SYSTEM:

I preview and rate every fight that is scheduled to be televised on a PPV Boxing Card, and try to determine whether that card is worth purchasing or not based on my point system below.

Please note that at the end of each preview, I will mention what weight class the bout is being fought at and where each fighter ranks within that weight class. This is done by using "The Ring" ratings.

If a fight is scheduled to be televised on the card, it gets at least 1 point. This helps to reward quantity.

POINT SYSTEM:

14 or higher = GET IT!

13 = If you can find someone to split it with you or the price of the PPV is 24.99 or less, GET IT!

12 = If you can find someone to split it with you or the price of the PPV is 19.99 or less CONSIDER getting it.

11 = If you can find a place that is showing it, or get enough people over to split it with you, so that you are not paying more than 10 dollars for the card, CONSIDER getting it.

10 or under = Save your money and sleep well at night knowing you didn't get ripped off!

AND AWAY WE GO!

December 10th - PPV PRICE: $19.95

AUDLEY HARRISON (19-0 14KO's) vs DANNY WILLIAMS (33-5 28KO's)

Audley Harrison's boxing career has been on the slow boat for awhile, some of that due to injuries, but not all of it. He is finally taking a slight step up in competition when he faces fellow countryman Danny Williams. Harrison is a south paw with a decent jab when he throws it, but so far in his career, he throws few punches and has been down right boring. Perhaps as the competition level picks up so will his pace. Williams of course is best known for his KO win over Mike Tyson, which doesn't look so impressive when Kevin McBride is able to accomplish the same feat. He is a big puncher who has a history of losing when he steps up in competition. If Harrison is worth anything, he shouldn't have much trouble with Williams. But based on Harrison's past performances, will anyone still be awake by the conclusion? If Williams really presses the action, maybe this will turn out to be something, otherwise, it could be snooze city.

*This fight will take place at Heavyweight  Neither fighter is rated*

SCORE = 2

AMIR KHAN (3-0 2KO's) vs DANIEL THORPE (18-45-2 6KO's)

Olympic silver medalist Amir Khan has already reached superstar status in England. He's matched up against career loser Daniel Thorpe(Yep, that record was not a typo!) This will be the first opportunity for folks in the U.S.A. to catch of glimpse of the wildly popular and talented Khan, but in this matchup, if you blink, you might miss him.

*This fight will take place at Jr Welterweight (140 lbs) - Neither fighter is rated*

SCORE = 1

MATT SKELTON (17-0 16KO's) vs JOHN McDERMONTT (19-2 13KO's)

Matt Skelton, whom I like to refer to as "Red"(Get it?) is England's undefeated heavyweight knock out artist. Only Julius Francis was able to make it to the bell against Skelton. At 38 Skelton better make his move pretty quick. McDermott has no impressive wins on his resume and lost both times he stepped up and faced any real competition. This will be the 3rd step up for him. Again, don't blink.

*This fight will take place at Heavyweight  Neither fighter is rated*

SCORE = 1

PAUL SMITH (14-0 7KO's) vs HUSSAIN OSMAN (13-10)

Osman just another opponent for an undefeated fighter trying to build up a pretty record. However, this will only be the 4th fighter that Smith has ever faced that actually has more wins than losses! Pretty sad when a fighter with a 13-10 record is a step up in competition. And that's not the worst of it. Osman comes into this match on a 5 fight losing streak. Ugh.

SCORE = 1

*This fight will take place at Middlweight (160 lbs) - Neither fighter is rated*

SCORE = 1

FINAL SCORE = 5

SUMMARY: Well, the England PPV experiment is off to a stumbling flat on their faces kind of a start. Last month they offered a Ricky Hatton beating with the undercard from hell and this month it's more of the same. When the main event can do no better than a 2 on my scale, you know the card's in trouble. And I was being extremely generous with that 2, believe me! The positive thing about this card is that fight fans in the U.S.A. finally get an opportunity to see fighters they've probably only heard of in Amir Khan, Matt Skelton and the lesser known Paul Smith. The problem is that they have all of those fighters in showcase fights, so you probably won't get to see them for long and almost certainly won't see any of them tested. So is it worth it to fork out 20 bucks to see a main event that has a better chance of being ho-hum or downright boring, than it does exciting along with a glimpse of some of England's well known pugilists in glorified sparring sessions? Obviously not. Again, I like the concept of giving folks in the U.S. a chance to see some European cards that they otherwise would not be able to, but I sure wish they would send us over something better than their first two attempts. Maybe they'll get it right one of these times. So far they are 0 for 2.